The Waukesha Landmarks Commission on Oct. 1 approved a city-led proposal to paint a large mural on the east wall of 300 West Main Street facing Freedman Alley, part of a broader placemaking plan to revitalize the alley and better link downtown to the riverfront.

Department of Community Development staff and an arts-program representative told commissioners the proposal calls for a roughly 24-foot-wide by 20-foot-high mural depicting a stylized fox, to be painted directly onto a stucco east wall that staff believe is a later non-historic surface. The artist selected by the public art committee has completed similar work in Milwaukee’s Black Cat Alley. The plan includes power-washing the wall before painting; the city will execute memoranda of understanding and contracts with property owners for the installation.

Charlie said the public art committee received 21 applications for two mural locations and selected two proposals: one painted directly on stucco at 300 W. Main and another that will be painted on a board and affixed to a wall to avoid contact with original historic fabric. "We've worked with the building owners...we're working on MOUs and contracts," a city arts representative told the commission.

Commissioners supported the mural as a placemaking measure and asked staff to check on a visible black coaxial cable on the wall that could interfere with the mural surface. One commissioner asked whether the alley would host events; staff said the alley is city-owned and could be used for markets, performances and year-round activations similar to other civic alleys. Commissioners noted that signs in the downtown sign district must comply with the downtown sign-area code (for example, indirect lighting rather than backlit signs); staff said separate sign permits and sign-code compliance would govern new signage in the alley.

A motion to approve the certificate of appropriateness for the mural carried by voice vote; the motion included a request that staff investigate and address the cable before painting. The city will move forward with final contracts and site-preparation work.